António Variações

António Variações

António Joaquim Rodrigues Ribeiro, (December 3, 1944 – June 13 1984) was a Portuguese singer and songwriter. Despite his short-lived career, due to his premature death at the age of thirty-nine, he would, under the stage name of António Variações, become one of the most culturally significant performing artists of recent Portuguese history. His recorded works blended contemporary music genres with traditional Portuguese rhythms and melodies, creating music which for many is symbolic of the liberalization that occurred in Portuguese society after the Carnation Revolution of 1974. The original and provocative nature of his recorded works has led to him being widely recognized as one of the most innovative artists in the recent history of Portuguese popular music.

Early life

António Variações was born in Lugar do Pilar, a small village in Fiscal (Amares, Braga), the fifth of the ten offsprings of Deolinda de Jesus and Jaime Ribeiro. As a child, his love of music often took him away from his field work chores and towards the local folklore celebrations. He completed his basic education at the age of eleven and soon after took up his first job making small trinkets in the neighbouring village of Caldelas.

At the age of twelve he left the interior to the capital, Lisbon, to work at an office. He served the compulsory army duty in Angola, returning home safe and sound, but almost immediately departing to London, to work as a dishwasher at a school, for the duration of a year. Returning once again to Portugal for a brief time in 1976, António Variações roamed to Amsterdam where he took up hairdressing, profession which he would continue to exert when returning to Lisbon in the following year, opening the first unisex salon in the country and afterwards a barber shop downtown (among his clients there would be several people from the music industry, who would help launch his career).

Parallell to this day job, he started working the local club scene at night, along with a group of musicians dubbed "Variações" (translated, "Variations", a word which suggested the diversity of the singer's influences, sound and style). His garish visuals and camp fashion accessories, uncommon for a man at the time in Portugal, soon started to become noticed.

Career

Newspaper clipping, announcing one of Variações' first concerts at the Lisbon nightclub, Trumps, on March 18 1981. At this point, he was simply billed as: "António, author-interpreter, with the band Kamikaze and friends"

Signing with Valentim de Carvalho

In 1978, António submitted a demotape to Valentim de Carvalho, one of the most important record labels in Portugal, but, despite signing a contract, he would not be allowed to record anything for another four years because the executives were unsure about the genre that best suited his work, folk or pop music, and therefore could not come to a consensus as to what should be done with the unusual artist. In February 1981, he appeared with his band in a popular TV show presented by Júlio Isidro, called "Passeio dos Alegres", billed as "António e Variações" and performing two unreleased songs ("Toma o comprimido" and "Não me consumas"). Following this appearance, he would be a guest a few times on "Febre de Sábado de Manhã", a radio show on Rádio Comercial presented by the same host.

"Anjo da Guarda"

In July 1982, his first single was released, this time under the name of António Variações. This recording featured a cover of the seminal fado "Povo Que Lavas No Rio", immortalized by the diva of the genre, Amália Rodrigues, and an original song of his own authorship, "Estou Além". The cover song of the untouchable fado caused controversy among many, but over time became accepted as a heartfelt tribute of Variações to Amália Rodrigues, to whom he dedicated his first LP, "Anjo da Guarda", released in 1983, to great critical and popular acclaim. Two of the songs from this release, "O Corpo É Que Paga" and "É P'ra Amanhã" experienced frequent radio airplay, the latter being released as a Summer single.

"Dar & Receber"

After a series of concerts, António returned to the studio and, between the 6th and 25th of February 1984, recorded his second and final LP, entitled "Dar & Receber", which would be released in May of the same year and received once again with great enthusiasm on all fronts (having in the song "Canção de Engate" one of the artist's biggest hits). Two months later, he would perform his last concert in the Portuguese parish of Viatodos (part of the municipality of Barcelos), during the festival of "Feira da Isabelinha". In April he would make his last public appearance at the TV show "A Festa Continua", hosted by Júlio Isidro.

Death

On May the 18th of 1984, Variações was admitted to the Pulido Valente hospital with symptoms of asmatic bronchitis and later transferred to the Red Cross Clinic. At this time, the health of the artist was severely debilitated and rumours about his condition being brought on by AIDS started to circulate, which, given the prejudice towards the disease at the time, made him a target of some discrimination. Save for his family and closest friends, he received few visitors during his stay at the hospital. In June the press released news that his health state had deteriorated considerably.

António Variações' coffin is carried away, at the Estrela Basilica.

At the dawn of the 13th of June, António Variações died due to a bilateral bronchial pneumonia. His funeral was held on the 15th at the Estrela Basilica, where family, friends, fellow musicians, barbers and fans paid their last respects. The funeral stirred some controversy, because the authorities ordered that his coffin be sealed for public health concerns, which further fueled the rumours that he had died as a result of AIDS-related complications. The family of António Variações doesn't acknowledge that this was the actual cause of death (or that he was a homosexual), but it's assumed by most that he was one of the first public victims of the disease in Portugal. His former manager, Teresa Couto Pinto, has claimed that, prior to his death, Variações had received clinical test results performed in the United States confirming that he was indeed HIV positive. His remains were buried in the cemetery of Amares, where they still rest today.

Musical style

António Variações had no formal music training. His first musical influence was his father, who played accordion and cavaquinho, but never had the chance to become a serious musician. From his travels abroad, Variações was able to get in touch with artists and genres which were not widely known back home and began fusing genres such as pop, rock, jazz, blues and new wave with his Portuguese folk and fado roots.

Not knowing how to play or compose music did not stop António from making music by himself. He would, using a tape recorder, mimic sounds and rhythms while he sang, using his own voice or even tapping his hands on different objects. These recordings were then used by his supporting studio musicians as the basis for the song arrangements. Variações' music is characterized by the use of a variety of instruments, ranging from synthesizers, to Portuguese and classical guitars, to accordions and more. Defying genre definition, he created his own description for his sound: something between Braga and New York, reflecting the cosmopolitan, yet down to earth and rural aspect of his eclectic style. He was intent on becoming a popular artist in the true sense of the word and he managed to reach audiences which were very diverse, from the blue collar to the white collar workers, to the uneducated and the intellectuals, to young and old alike.

Lyrics

Despite having only the minimum education (at the time, four years of basic instruction, although he also attended night school classes in Lisbon for some time) and no music training, Variações had a deep sense of rhythm and a keen mastery of the written word. Variações' lyrics are often a mix of proverbs, popular wisdom and personal experiences and he had a notable ability of spinning commonplaces into original and compelling imagery. This popular character of his words made it easy for most of his listeners to identify with the themes of the songs, which often speak about restlessness, feelings of escapism or the deceitful nature of love affairs. A few of his songs have an autobiographical resonance (such as "Olhei P'ra Trás", where he describes the sorrowful but hopeful departure from his small village or "Deolinda de Jesus", dedicated to his mother).

Influences

António Variações was a fervent admirer of the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa (dedicating the LP "Dar & Receber" to Pessoa, in a cryptically unfinished sentence, and using one of his poems on the song "Canção") and some of his lyrics share similarities with the feelings expressed on some of Pessoa's poems. Another of the artist's major influences was Amália Rodrigues, a fado singer of international renown. Apart from dedicating his first LP to her and covering one of her songs, he also wrote an ode to the singer, recorded as the song "Voz-Amália-de-Nós", in which he sings "All of us have Amália in our voice and we have in her voice the voice of all of us" (Amália Rodrigues is a Portuguese national icon). Both artists would only meet on stage once, a concert at the Aula Magna of the University of Lisbon, on May 26 1983. Amália paid back homage to António by attending his funeral celebration.

From his extensive travels abroad, he got acquainted with the work of foreign artists like David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, The Kinks, Elvis Presley and The Beatles. This encounter with a different musical culture left a deep impression on him; a testament to this is the fact that his first song experiments were written in English (although he soon abandoned this approach, in search of a more authentic and personal style of writing, in Portuguese).

Collaborators

Because Variações did not have the knowledge to properly compose music by himself, collaboration with other musicians at the writing, recording and producing stages was necessary. He would first collaborate with the musicians Vítor Rua, Tóli César Machado (both from the band GNR) and José Moz Carrapa on his first LP, "Anjo da Guarda", and then with Pedro Ayres Magalhães and Carlos Maria Trindade, at the time, part of the band Heróis do Mar (and later, Madredeus) on the recording of "Dar & Receber". The five members of Heróis do Mar acted as António's studio band; they would become close to Variações, especially Pedro Ayres Magalhães, who speaks fondly of him on the liner notes of "Dar & Receber": "I thank you António, for your enthusiasm and trust, and I would like to write here that I've gained a friendship".

Humanos

At the time of his death, Variações left behind a box containing over forty tapes and studio reels, which were forgotten for a long time, at first in the possession of his brother, Jaime Ribeiro. These were then kept for over ten years by David Ferreira at EMI-Valentim de Carvalho, until journalist Nuno Galopim took up the enterprise of listening to and transcribing them, which would become the beginning of the musical project known as Humanos.

Discography

Lifetime releases

• Singles
  • 1982 - Povo Que Lavas No Rio/Estou Além
  • 1983 - É P'ra Amanhã.../Quando Fala Um Português...
• LPs
  • 1983 - Anjo da Guarda
  • 1984 - Dar & Receber

Posthumous releases and remasterings

• Singles
  • 1997 - Canção de Engate
  • 1997 - O Corpo É Que Paga/É P'ra Amanhã... (remixed by Nuno Miguel)
  • 1998 - Minha cara sem fronteiras - entre Braga e Nova Iorque
• Albums
  • 1997 - O Melhor de António Variações (best-of)
  • 1998 - Anjo da Guarda (includes the bonus track Povo que lavas no rio)
  • 2000 - Dar & Receber (includes three versions (two of which are remixes) of Minha cara sem fronteiras)
  • 2006 - A História de António Variações - entre Braga e Nova Iorque (best-of which includes previously unreleased demos)

Tributes

• Cover songs
  • 1987 - Delfins - Canção de Engate
  • 1995 - Amarguinhas - Estou Além
  • 1996 - MDA - Dar & Receber
  • 1996 - MDA - Estou Além
  • 2004 - Donna Maria - Estou Além
  • 2005 - RAMP - Anjinho da Guarda
• Albums
  • 1989 - Lena D'Água - Tu Aqui
  • 1994 - Variações - As Canções de António
  • 2004 - Humanos - Humanos

Variações (film)

A biographical movie about António Variações is currently in pre-production. The first script was written by film director João Maia but was not considered suitable for production. A new script has been written by Evan J. Maloney. Joao Maia is currently in a legal dispute with Utopia Filmes the production company financing the film. The film is scheduled for release in 2009.

Trivia

• António Variações died on the day consecrated to St. Anthony of Lisbon (the saint's name, in Portuguese, is also António), and the birthday of Fernando Pessoa, whose poetry influenced Variações greatly.

• When Fernando Pessoa died, he left behind a trunk full of unpublished works and written fragments, much like Variações' box containing unheard recordings, works in progress and lyrical fragments.

• Variações pitched his singer/songwriter talents to popular radio and TV host Júlio Isidro, while giving him a haircut.

• He also cut the hair of the members of Heróis do Mar. At the time, they were in a band called Corpo Diplomático and he gave them New Wave-looking haircuts for a photo shoot. He also gave his manager, Teresa Couto Pinto, a radical buzz cut haircut, which earned her the moniker "Punk Teresa".

• His house was described by visitors as a strange place, with a plastic mannequin right at the entrance. His bedroom walls were painted in hot pink, which was brightened even further when a red lamp was lit. His barber shop was similarly decorated in an extravagant manner, with bold colors, vintage ballroom dresses and old perfume bottles.

• He had a passion for knick knacks, collecting different objects at flea markets and ordering them by themes (such as type, color, etc.). It is said that his collections were so great in number, that they filled up entire spaces from floor to ceiling.

• He didn't smoke or drink alcohol, and he usually started off his day working out at the gym.

• While giving interviews, António was famous for making bold and provocative remarks. At one point he stated that Amália could sing rock music.

• He considered himself to be a "non-practicing" catholic, but appreciated the peaceful ambience and beauty of churches.

• António Variações ranked at #98 on the public poll/television show Os Grandes Portugueses.

See also

• Humanos

Bibliography

• Gonzaga, Manuela; António Variações: Entre Braga e Nova Iorque; Âncora Editora; 2006; ISBN 9727801749
• Variações, António; Muda de Vida; Relógio de Água Editores; 2006; ISBN 9727088732

External links

• Template:Pt icon A História de António Variações (Official site of the album)
• Template:Pt icon Humanos (Official site of the project)